ALBANY, NEW YORK - APRIL 01: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes shoots the ball over Angel Reese #10 of the LSU Tigers during the first half in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at MVP Arena on April 01, 2024 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark and Iowa got their revenge.

The Hawkeyes are headed to the Final Four for the second straight season thanks to a 94-87 victory over LSU in Monday’s Elite Eight showdown of the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament. It was a national championship game rematch, and Iowa delivered this time around in the showdown everyone has been waiting for all season.

In a game filled with star power, Clark shined the brightest.

She finished with 41 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and two steals behind nine made three-pointers, which helped her set the record for the most made career three-pointers in Division 1 women’s basketball history.

It was yet another record for someone who also became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer earlier this year by passing Pete Maravich. She also prevented LSU stars Angel Reese (17 points and 20 rebounds) and Flau’jae Johnson (23 points) from winning a second straight title and earned plenty of social-media reaction in the process:

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The fireworks started early.

First, Reese—who certainly didn’t hesitate to talk trash to Clark and others during last year’s title game—placed a crown on LSU’s bench during pregame warmups. Yet Clark responded by draining her first three-pointer as Iowa set the tone and jumped out to an eight-point lead in the opening minutes.

 

Naturally, it was Reese who was the driving force behind the Tigers’ ensuing 10-0 run to end the first quarter with plays on both ends of the floor, including a steal on a Clark pass to set up an easy transition opportunity.

LSU got a scare in the second quarter when Reese limped to the bench, but she didn’t miss much time before returning to what turned into an incredible first half that fittingly ended with a deadlocked score with the two stars going shot-for-shot.

 

And then the Clark show really started.

All the likely No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft did was connect on four three-pointers in the third quarter alone, many of which were well beyond the arc in her signature fashion. It wasn’t just the shooting, though, as she unleashed perfectly placed passes from beyond half court and consistently set up her teammates when the defense collapsed on her.

The end result was an 11-point lead for Iowa going into the fourth quarter, and the deficit would have been even worse for LSU if it wasn’t for Johnson carrying her team for stretches with impressive play on both ends even though she was in foul trouble.

Johnson could only do so much, though, and maybe would have had an even bigger impact if LSU head coach Kim Mulkey put her on Clark before the deficit was double digits in the fourth quarter.

Clark was completely dialed in from the start in a signature performance that will stand out as part of a legendary career. The Tigers never truly threatened in the fourth quarter, Reese fouled out and Clark is now just two wins away from checking off the one thing missing from her resume.

A national title.